After a single exchange, Yang Kai had already gauged Liu Zian's true strength. He really was at the Seventh Grade — that dense Heavenly and Earthly Might couldn't be faked. However, he was utterly incapable of unleashing his full power. His cultivation base felt like a castle built on air.
In contrast, although Yang Kai's foundation had been damaged by twice severing his Small Universe, the refinement from the World Tree's sub-tree had made his own power extraordinarily pure. Though he couldn't match his opponent in sheer quantity, in terms of quality he had already achieved a crushing advantage. That was why Yang Kai had gained the upper hand in their exchange.
An increasingly violent aura surged from the collapsed ruins. Liu Zian's massive figure stepped out from the ruined quarters one stride at a time, each footfall seeming to make the earth tremble. Black energy coiled around his entire body, and even his eyes had turned completely black. He glared at Yang Kai with vicious hatred and snarled through gritted teeth: "Boy, you're courting death!"
With those words, he lunged at Yang Kai with blinding speed.
While still midair, both fists transformed into a sky full of fist shadows, descending upon Yang Kai like a canopy.
Yang Kai had been looking to escalate things, so he certainly wasn't going to back down. He charged forward to meet the attack, and in an instant the two were locked in a furious battle.
The commotion from their fight was considerable, and it quickly drew the attention of every corner of the fortress.
Lords who had been scattered throughout appeared one after another, watching from a distance. When they saw that it was Ghost Fang's Ink Disciple fighting the Domain Lord's Ink Disciple, they were all startled, having no idea what had happened to make these two humans fight each other to the death.
However, these lords had no intention of intervening or stopping the fight. To them, Ink Disciples of human origin — even though they had been corrupted by the Ink Force — were not the same species as their noble bloodline. They naturally didn't care who lived or who died, and in fact watched with great amusement, pointing and commenting.
In the small courtyard battlefield, the fight between Yang Kai and Liu Zian was extraordinarily fierce. And as the battle raged on, Yang Kai discovered that Liu Zian's application of his own power was indeed problematic.
His attacks would at times be powerful and heavy, forcing Yang Kai to strain even to defend against them, and then suddenly turn soft and feeble, allowing Yang Kai to find openings and strike flesh with every blow, making Liu Zian howl in pain.
This situation was obviously not a matter of Liu Zian skillfully modulating his power — rather, his performance was wildly unstable. Occasionally he could unleash his true strength, but other times he simply couldn't muster it.
A true Open Heaven Realm cultivator with a solid foundation would never encounter such problems. Anyone who had cultivated all the way to the Open Heaven Realm would have long since mastered the application of their own power to perfection. The only reason this was happening was that Liu Zian's Seventh Grade had come improperly.
In his current state, if he were truly put on a battlefield, he would quickly fall. All an opponent needed was to find the slightest opening, and they could take his life.
Even Yang Kai, as he was now, wouldn't find it difficult to kill him. But Yang Kai had no such intention. Although Liu Zian was beyond saving — even if the Purification Light were used to dispel the Ink Force within him, his Small Universe would collapse under the weight of Seventh Grade Open Heaven power, killing him — he was still Ghost Fang's Ink Disciple. If Yang Kai killed him here, Ghost Fang would certainly fly into a rage.
Liu Zian wasn't wrong about one thing. Black Abyss had been in seclusion healing for several years, and before that had entrusted Ghost Fang to manage all affairs of the territory. If Yang Kai truly angered Ghost Fang, his own days would become very unpleasant.
After fighting for some time, Liu Zian had fallen completely onto the defensive.
This made him even more frenzied with rage. He had originally assumed that Yang Kai's damaged foundation meant he couldn't possibly be a match for him, but now after clashing he realized the reality was nothing like what he'd imagined. Even with a damaged foundation, Yang Kai had this kind of ability — no wonder he'd been able to kill so many lords and Ink Clan members at his peak.
At this point, Liu Zian found himself in a difficult position, unable to retreat. He could only frantically drive his power in an attempt to suppress Yang Kai, while praying that Yang Kai's damaged foundation meant he couldn't sustain the fight for long.
But the more he pushed his power, the denser the black energy coiling around him became, and the more dangerous the aura emanating from his entire being grew.
He himself seemed oblivious to it, but Yang Kai could sense it faintly.
Forcibly driving power that he originally couldn't control — this Liu Zian would very likely be consumed by backlash from his own power soon enough. When that happened, even if he didn't die, he would become a cripple.
It was at this moment that Yang Kai's mind stirred, and he deliberately eased his offensive slightly.
Seeing this, Liu Zian was about to press the attack when an angry shout suddenly rang out: "All of you, stop!"
As the words fell, a figure descended from the sky and landed directly between Yang Kai and Liu Zian.
Yang Kai reacted quickly, leaping back several steps. But Liu Zian, his mind clouded by fury, had already thrown a devastating punch that surged toward the newcomer with tremendous force.
However, upon seeing who it was, Liu Zian was startled and hastily pulled back his fist.
The ferocious attack, having been launched and then forcibly retracted, sent his Small Universe into violent upheaval, throwing his Heavenly and Earthly Might into complete chaos.
"Pfft—" Liu Zian spat out a mouthful of blood, finally unable to withstand the backlash. His aura weakened considerably.
Mustering what strength he had, Liu Zian cupped his fists: "Master!"
Ghost Fang cast him a cold, ghostly glance that left him drenched in cold sweat and trembling at the knees. Ink Disciples were naturally suppressed in the presence of their master, and this time it seemed he had thoroughly botched things. Liu Zian was terrified.